December 13, 2007

Padres lock up Peavy through 2012

December 08, 2007

Report Card, Khalil Greene

There's the good, the bad, and the ugly. That seems a fitting description for Khalil Greene.

The Good: For the first time since his rookie campaign, Greene was able to defy the odds and play an entire season without it being shortened by injury. This was very good solely for the fact that normal back-up Geoff Blum was already busy replacing Marcus Giles, so he really had no time for Greene to get injured again. With 74 total extra base hits on the year he finished up second to only Adrian Gonzalez on the team in HR's and RBI.

The Bad: Right field still seems to be a mystery to Khalil. If you look at his hit charts for the year he has maybe, and I use the term loosely, 20 hits to right field and they're almost all singles. They also probably weren't hit until Wally Joyner joined the team, whether coincidence or not Khalil waited until late mid-season to explore taking a pitch the other way. His batting average stagnated around the .250 mark and his strikeout totals jumped to 128 for the season, although this may have just been a product of the team as a whole.

The Ugly: For those of you who think OBP (On Base Percentage) is a pointless statistic, consider Khalil's please. Coming in at a whopping .291, Khalil's 128SO/32BB was atrocious. Consider that many fans focused strongly on Mike Cameron's strikeouts throughout the year, yet Cameron was able to get on base more often with a .328 OBP walking 67 times to his 160 strikeouts. Khalil has got to get on base, especially if he's going to be put in the order any higher than fifth in the lineup. His .304/.325/.576 line in the 6th spot and .344/.371/.594 line batting 7th are just leaps and bounds over his production in the 5th and batting 5th without getting on base is just a rally killer for any team.

The Neutral: Like Khalil the person, Khalil the "stats" are such a give and take that it's hard to qualify him on the team. Yes his XBH (extra base hits) were off the charts this year; however he has got to find the right side of the field and not be afraid to not swing the bat. With his average defense, his athleticism makes up for a lot but don't let the flashiness fool you, and his ability to mash the ball at a position where power is a luxury it bodes ill for the Padres when it comes to negotiating an extension.

Overall SS goes down as a B-. You can't knock what he did, but you can't forgive what he can't do.